Updated to clarify a few things We are planning a six week trip through The Netherlands, Belgium and France. Mid April to end of May 2025. We are struggling with planning the first 2 weeks. We think we will do some kind of figure 8 as we fly in (15th April) and out (30th May) of Paris, heading north into Belgium and then on to the west of The Netherlands to Haarlem, base there a few days and then head back towards Paris via Arnhem. We will then spend the remainder of the time in France. We are just struggling with the first 2 weeks at the moment.
Day 1 - We fly in the Paris (CDG) at night. We plan to stay a night local to the airport and collect a hire car the next day.
Day 2 - First stop Amiens. We want to look at a few things in the area so will stay in Amiens that night and head off the next day. This will also give us a chance to get over the jet lag and get used to driving on the opposite side of road etc. We are Australian.
Day 3 - Head to Bruges via Ypres and stay in Bruges 4 nights and day trip to Ghent and Brussels.
Day 7 - Head to Delft. Stay in Delft 2 nights. Explore Rotterdam and The Hague from here.
Day 9 - Head to Haarlem via Leiden. It is here we are not sure about how much time to stay in Haarlem and/or Amsterdam.
While in Haarlem we wish to see Kreukenhof, Stroomtram Museum (Enkhuizen and Hoorn), Waterland (Edam, Volendam, Matken), Corrie Ten Boom’s house. We also want to see Amsterdam and the key POI’s there.
Questions - is this feasible, reasonable up to Day 9. How long should we stay in Haarlem and should we base ourselves there to explore Amsterdam proper as well? We will have a car, so happy to leave car parked up in Haarlem and catch train etc to Amsterdam when we go there. We will have the car for the first 5 of the 6 weeks. After we leave Haarlem/Amsterdam we will head to see the Kroller Muller Museum, stay a night in Otterlo and the Arnhem open air museum the next day. Driving from there back into Belgium maybe to Leige for a night.
We will then head toward France via Luxembourg and onto Dijon we think. Then we will tour France for 3 weeks and end with hopefully a week in Paris. We haven’t started to plan this section yet.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and assistance.
Posted by
910 posts
Curious where you are from, since you consider driving on the right, the opposite side of the road?
Posted by
Oregon
372 posts
So if I’m understanding- you have 4 “extra” days? I don’t see extra days- I see slow down and give yourself more days not driving the rental car, more exploring on foot or train and more time to breathe a bit.
Posted by
San Diego, California
5595 posts
Did you mention when this trip happens? Hopefully my recent Trip Report above will have some helpful info. We loved staying in Haarlem and going into Amsterdam. And Keukenhof is fantastic. Also, try to get to Kinderdijk- I've detailed how we got there.
Secure Corrie ten Boom house tickets as soon as you have your trip dates. It is fully booked about 8-10 months out now.
Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1326 posts
kyliegannon,
Curious, When you say you may leave the car in Haarlem, is that to turn it in, or just for the day? If it is to turn it in, then prepare for a very hefty drop-off fee in a different country from where you rented it. Could easily be about $1000.00 extra. And all the things you list on day 9 will fill up those 4 extra days. Your time in Belgium and the Netherlands are pretty packed. Maybe slow down a bit and give yourself enought driving time. The sites that provide drive times usually don't account for traffic, gas fill-ups, meal or comfort stops. To have one full day someplace needs two nights there.
Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2404 posts
hey hey kyliegannon
when are you planning this trip and how many people are traveling? have you thought of multicity flight, into one city and out from another instead of backtracking. remember check in to hotels/apts are 3-4pm and check out is 10-11am. if too earlt ask about storing luggage before check in.
day 9 is too much to do in a single day, do you have parking available, if not how far from accomodations do you park and how much per day. make sure you are in paris night before your flight back. so much can happen on road getting back to paris.
read up about laws/rules of driving in another country, do you stickers/emblens to drive in another country, get an international driving permit (AAA/IDP) before you leave. it's about $25, 2 passport photos, get it same day, good for one year. some rental car agencies may ask and if none may deny, if stopped by local cops you will get a high fine, returning to another country is a BIG FEE $$$$$$.
what ever attractions/activities you plan/want to see reserve way ahead of time at their website. many are time stamped and sell out fast, don't want you to be upset if you can't get them. the places you're going to will be busy/crowded with so many travelers from around the world wanting to see the same things as you do. pack patience and pack light, be careful leaving and valuables in car while parked. if it's important take it with you or leave your "jewels" at home.
good luck and enjoy
aloha
Posted by
OP
2 posts
I have amended original post to clarify a few points. We are Australian. Travelling between 15th April and 30th May. We will have a car for 5 of the 6 weeks - pick up and drop off is CDG airport. We are mostly stuck about how many days to spend in Haarlem and/or Amsterdam given what we want to do. Also whether to stay some days/nights in Haarlem and some in Amsterdam or just base ourselves in Haarlem the whole time and day trip in and out of Amsterdam. Thanks for all advice so far.
Posted by
125 posts
Hello, I just returned from a trip to The Netherlands and have some thoughts. I personally don't like having to switch hotels a lot and if you are the same, then there's no reason to stay in both Delft and Haarlem as they are so close by train (Rotterdam & The Hague also easy by train from Haarlem), however that's a personal preference. I based myself in The Hague on my trip, at a hotel near the train station and day tripped via train everywhere except Amsterdam where I had booked a hotel there for those days, and it worked splendidly. You can absolutely stay in Haarlem and day trip into Amsterdam by train and back extremely easily. The only caveat is that I found Amsterdam to be very fun but also very exhausting and I did find having a hotel to return to in the middle of the day for a little break to be valuable, especially seeing as the weather was very rainy while I was there. It's amazing how much your mood can improve when you can change into some dry clothes.
Posted by
City of Seattle
1951 posts
OP your itinerary up to the Harlem part looks perfectly rational, and would be a good time for sure. You could certainly clip a night off of Bruges, it's a lovely town but not big and by the second full day you get it and could move on. If you skipped Brussels you wouldn't really miss it too much. Ghent is a nice day trip.
Posted by
London, England
231 posts
Similarly I wouldn't bother with a day trip to Brussels. It's an interesting city but the places worth seeing are spread widely around it, and a day trip would involve too much local travel.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2084 posts
Maybe I have overlooked it, but you don’t mention with how many persons you travel. Is we 2 persons or do you talk about a whole family etc.?
As the majority of the places you want to visit are cities I would seriously consider using public transport. Especially in case you are travelling with two it’s way more efficient. Most railway stations are very close to city centers, in many cases a short walk is needed or a short ride with the local tram. So you don’t have to look for parking spaces, don’t loose time driving through the outskirts or facing traffic jams or slow moving traffic in case using a car. With the timetables of public transport planning is much more precise, you won’t loosing time with the unconveniences and uncertainties a car has. Public transport in Belgium and the Netherlands is very well organized, it’s only a matter of getting familiar with it.
The only reason in your case to my opinion is needing a car for exploring the countryside. If Amiens means interest in WW1 too and visiting the memorials along the Somme river it’s actually undoable with public transport and using a car the way to go. So you can hire a car from CDG, visit Amiens and drop off in Lille, close to the Belgian border. Lille is an import railway hub with easy connections with Brussels and Ghent and in a lesser extend Bruges. On the way to Amiens from CDG worth doing is a detour to charming Senlis and having enough time nearby Chantilly too.
For visiting Ypres you can make a detour with your “French” car and drop off in Lille, just to avoid a hefty fee in case dropping off across the border for instance in Belgium or the Netherlands. Ypres is much more worth to visit if you can go to the surrounding countryside too with it’s many cemetries and memorials. You can also join a battle tour, some companies can pick you up in Bruges, not directly cheap but some prefer that.
For exploring the countryside north of Amsterdam you can consider renting a car too.
Posted by
Adams Basin
558 posts
Having done a similar trip, I would be sure to visit Reims on my way to Dinant.
Take a day (or more) off of Brugge and Amsterdam if you must. Although we always enjoy Brugge, that much time there is way too much. Amsterdam, it's never been my favorite place to visit so again, a bit less time there so that you can enjoy Southern Belgium and the champagne in Reims would get my vote.